Cultural Encoding in Large Language Models: The Existence Gap in AI-Mediated Brand Discovery
This addresses algorithmic invisibility for brands in AI-mediated consumer discovery, highlighting a significant barrier for market entry due to training data gaps.
The study investigated how training data composition in large language models (LLMs) leads to systematic differences in brand recommendations, revealing that Chinese LLMs had 30.6 percentage points higher brand mention rates than International LLMs (88.9% vs. 58.3%) in English queries, indicating geography-driven disparities.
As artificial intelligence systems increasingly mediate consumer information discovery, brands face algorithmic invisibility. This study investigates Cultural Encoding in Large Language Models (LLMs) -- systematic differences in brand recommendations arising from training data composition. Analyzing 1,909 pure-English queries across 6 LLMs (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, Qwen3, DeepSeek, Doubao) and 30 brands, we find Chinese LLMs exhibit 30.6 percentage points higher brand mention rates than International LLMs (88.9% vs. 58.3%, p<.001). This disparity persists in identical English queries, indicating training data geography -- not language -- drives the effect. We introduce the Existence Gap: brands absent from LLM training corpora lack "existence" in AI responses regardless of quality. Through a case study of Zhizibianjie (OmniEdge), a collaboration platform with 65.6% mention rate in Chinese LLMs but 0% in International models (p<.001), we demonstrate how Linguistic Boundary Barriers create invisible market entry obstacles. Theoretically, we contribute the Data Moat Framework, conceptualizing AI-visible content as a VRIN strategic resource. We operationalize Algorithmic Omnipresence -- comprehensive brand visibility across LLM knowledge bases -- as the strategic objective for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). Managerially, we provide an 18-month roadmap for brands to build Data Moats through semantic coverage, technical depth, and cultural localization. Our findings reveal that in AI-mediated markets, the limits of a brand's "Data Boundaries" define the limits of its "Market Frontiers."